


Fate

by Korazan



Category: MaLu - Fandom, MarcoxLuffy - Fandom, One Piece
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 16:36:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15368763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Korazan/pseuds/Korazan
Summary: [COMPLETE] Out of all the things that could have happened, Marco thought that being blocked on an island because of a storm was the most unnerving. He was a patient man, but... Five days straight? What a headache... [MaLu]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> DifferentDevilFruit!Luffy  
> Enjoy!

Marco sighed. For the eleventh time that day. How the hell did he end up in that situation? Oh, yep, right. The storm. The distance. Sea. Not being able to swim if he fell in it. In less words, not to die.

But, damn it, maybe it would have been better than wait for five fucking days in a not habited island. The rain was crashing down around with thunders roaring strongly. Thank whatever God, the storm did not flood the entire island. He was currently in a shelter of his own making, hidden in the branches of a big tree.

Let’s see… How did this mess start? He was returning to Moby Dick after a mission. Some pirates had attacked a city on their turf and were taken care of. On the way back, the sky had suddenly darkened and flying in the storm was highly unrecommended, so he had found rapidly an island and, just as he was landing, rain had started to pour with all its ferocity.

Five days without a single ray of the sun. He was seriously starting to feel annoyed and worried. Worried about his brothers and pops that were probably worried about him. What a fucking joke. And who on earth knew when the heck this damn storm was going to lift.

He sighed again, gathering some woods to lit a fire on the ground, rather easy with his flames, and started cooking a fish he caught in the river below. Luckily, it was blocked in a little pond, maybe because the river was so angry. He could hear it distinctly together with the thunders.

Over all, he liked the rain, its sounds were strangely soothing for him. Thunders, the river, drops of water. He closed his eyes, deciding that being in a foul mood wasn’t going to help him, and bathed in the sounds around the tree.

Marco wanted to return to his family, he was starting to feel nostalgic. Five days had done this to him. Five days, and he missed the chaos Thatch was always doing, Izo’s smirks, his pops. So badly at that. And the meals, the chance of using a real bathroom. He was becoming more and more like a savage. Really… Only five days. He should work on this, such a disgrace.

He almost fell asleep, but the smell of burnt fish made him snap. He took away the food with a sigh and started eating. Fortunately, the inside was well-cooked and he managed to eat it all.

A sudden crash made him flinch and stand. Then a cracked roar echoed in the night and Marco left the fishbone on the dirt, rapidly extinguishing the little fire with his foot. Other crashes made him flinch again and the pirate decided to quickly investigate.

He walked in the forest, following the noises of broken branches. Again, he heard a roar and a thud. It seemed huge, if the sound was any hint. Marco started running after another roar, more like a whine this time. The lightning gave him light sometimes, but otherwise he was engulfed by obscurity, so he had to call forth some of his flames on the arm.

He stopped abruptly when he came across a black wall. He noticed it and didn’t bump into it only because the light of his blue flames wasn’t lighting forward. He touched the wall, breath caught in his throat. He felt scales, wet hot scales. He increased his flames, being under a wide tree. The skin was shivering in his blue reflex. It was surely a huge beast, he couldn’t see it entirely because the wall took the entire space between the trees.

Marco jumped up on a branch and made his way through. He saw a new clearing, enclosed on three sides by the black wall, and landed there. The sound of a weak breath caught his attention and made him turn around. The side, that he thought was clear, wasn’t. A head was laid on the wet grass. His flames lit the feature of scales, horns along the lines of it, some bigger near the neck than those near the mouth, even bigger and bended in the place of eyebrows, and closed eyes. Small puffs of white air dissipated every now and then in front of its nose. Huge wings vibrated suddenly, soaking him wet. Marco shivered as a long, scaled tail snapped in the air.

Looking at it from that distance, he had no more doubts. It was a living, breathing, majestic, black dragon. And said breath was incredibly swallow and weak for such a huge beast. And, here, he was in a pinch. Marco wanted to help it, or him, or her, but what if it got scared of him and attacked? The creature groaned in pain, stirring and gritting its teeth.

To hell his debate, if someone was in need, he would help, that was his way of living. He inched closer and lifted a hand. Then stopped. No, this was not the way, he could startle it too much. Marco pondered his possibilities, he was still trained in always hiding his presence, so he slowly let it go. The pirate watched the beast stir again and its eyes snapped open, searching frantically his surroundings.

Marco lifted both his hands in surrender and the dragon finally saw him. The orbs became two slits of pure threat and it snarled with gritted teeth at him.

“Calm down, yoi.” He said, trying to placate it. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Another inhuman and scaring growl rooted him to his spot. The dragon lifted its head. It was then that Marco noticed something darker than the rain dropping. The smell of blood reached his nostrils.

“You’re wounded. I’m not an enemy, I only want to help you, yoi.”

The head got nearer and Marco thought those eyes were scanning him from his insides. They were searching and digging and making him feel naked. The teeth disappeared slowly after a while under black skin, but the eyes were still fiery.

“Let me help you.”

He tried to get near again, and this time came only a little snarl, not like the ones before. It was still a threat, but to not do anything funny.

“Ok, yoi.”

Marco inched closer and increased his flames, walking around the head to see better the wound. It was rather nasty and wide, on the shoulder, bleeding profusely over the head, the big arm and paw. He briefly wondered what caused it, but held back his question.

“I don’t have any medication, I need to cauterize the wound. It’s going to hurt… a lot.”

He covered his right hand in flames and waited for a sign. The dragon looked at him for a moment before nodding curtly and turning its head to the other side. Marco placed his flaming hand on the wound and a long, deep, low growl filled the air. While he concentrated on the matter at hand, the sun started its rise, covered by the rainy clouds. It took him many minutes before the blood finally stopped flowing. He called back his flames and looked at the wound, an ugly scar replacing it. The scales weren’t there anymore, only burned skin.

“It’s okay now, yoi.” He smiled.

The dragon turned again and looked with half-lidded eyes at his scar. Then nodded at him, probably in thanks.

“No problem, I’m sorry for the scar, though.”

The creature huffed and shrugged. Resting its head on the grass, his eyes didn’t lose sight of the man. Marco felt again the scrutinizing look on him, weaker than before, and decided to ignore it. And it was then that he noticed rain had stopped. He looked at the sky and saw clouds were slowly disappearing or going somewhere else. Finally, he could go home.

The pirate looked back at the creature with a smile of happiness. It lost some of his brightness, though, when he understood he would have left it alone. The wound may have been okay, not bleeding anymore, but the possibilities of an infection were high. And he didn’t want to further prolong his staying on the island.

He sighed. Marco wanted to go back, but he wanted to be sure the dragon was okay. It was still gazing over him, and was that uncertainty in its eyes? The pirate blinked, shaking his head.

“I need to go back, do you want to come with me?” He suddenly asked, surprising even himself. “There’s an infirmary there and my sisters can treat you better than me, yoi.”

The creature tilted its head, as if thinking about the offer. Then shook its head and looked at its wings and then at the paw.

“You can’t fly, right?”

It nodded. That was definitely a problem. He couldn’t lift that weight, it was too much for his form.

“And I can’t possibly carry you all over there…” He thought, not noticing he said it.

The dragon tilted its head again and nudged his elbow. Then a blue light engulfed it and the figure slowly became smaller. By the time the light disappeared, the dragon resembled more a puppy than a grown adult. It hissed in discomfort, licking the wound while looking at Marco with an inquisitive look.

The pirate got near and carefully took it in his arms. It was so little and cute that he petted its head with a smile.

“This way is easier, yoi.” He put the baby dragon on his back, where he felt claws digging in the violet open shirt. “I’ll change form, now.” He warned the creature.

Marco checked the vivre card of his pops and morphed into a Phoenix. Blue, not harmful and beautiful flames lingered on his feathery skin. He crooed once before taking flight into the sky. No clouds in sight, he relaxed his muscles, feeling his wings free to flap, and enjoyed the air, still humid because of the heavy and long storm.

The dragon on his back stretched his limbs and curled, seemingly sleepy. After some minutes, it was soundly asleep, breath even and unmoving, aside from its chest.

He wondered how many chances did he have of finding a living dragon out of nowhere, in the middle of a storm, in the New World, wounded. And it was willing to trust him, too. This was not something to take lightly. Being a myth creature was surely wonderful and made one proud, but the world was not a kind place. Slave traders and poachers were keen on capturing everything worth money, go figures how they would react to the sight of a dragon. A black beautiful dragon like this one.

Maybe that was exactly why he was wounded. A spark of rage flared in his chest at the realization, that he carefully controlled to not awake the dragon. Marco huffed, trying to think of something else.

This was his sixth day, finally free of the storm, but he’d been away from the ship for almost two weeks. Surely, his family was by then searching for him using his vivre card, so he hoped they would be near. The bundle on his back was too hot for his liking. Perhaps he was feverish, so he had to be fast.

The sun was reaching its peak on the sky when he finally sighted the Moby Dick. It was sailing towards him, so he was right. As Marco got over the ship, he moved its shoulders to wake up the dragon.

“Marco’s back!!” Someone yelled.

He felt it waking up and yawning, so he descended and changed in mid-air, landing on deck with the creature cradled in his arms.

“Hey brother, where have you been?” Izo asked, running towards him.

Thatch was there, too, together with some others. They were asking him a lot of question, but he ignored most of them. Instead, he turned his full attention to the black bundle in his arms. The dragon had tensed up almost impossibly at the sight of all the pirates.

Marco shushed them lifting one hand. “Sorry guys, a storm blocked me on an island, yoi.” He said, trying to shield the creature. “Where’s pops?”

“On his chair…” The cook said, finally noticing the animal. Izo did, too.

The others scrambled away, satisfied with the explanation and with a pat on Marco’s shoulder. The pirate walked to Whitebeard, that was drinking sake from a bottle. The giant man smiled fondly when he saw his son unharmed and again safe on the ship.

“Marco, welcome back. What took you so long?”

“A storm, yoi.” He smiled. “But I have a little problem.”

The dragon had tensed even more, and he wondered why was he so scared. Marco took away one arm and showed the three other pirates the puppy. Their eyes widened in surprise.

“What the hell!” Thatch screamed.

“How cute!” Izo squealed.

“A dragon?” Whitebeard inquired.

The bundle tried to back away, but he was already against Marco’s chest, so he ended up failing and looking up to his face. It seemed some realization downed on it because the dragon jumped on the floor with a growl. It was weak but brought forward the true menace that the bigger form gave.

Marco blinked, trying to understand the sudden threat. He was so trusty seconds before, but seeing the others and pops… Maybe he recognized them? But that was impossible. It was a dragon, not a person… Wait. No, it was possible… If the dragon was… Then maybe… But he had not heard once of this kind and it would surely bring forth a lot of news… Still…

“You’re a devil fruit user, yoi.” He said, startling everyone.

The dragon growled again and Marco was ready to swear he saw black flames through the gritted teeth. So, he was right. He had just brought who knew who on board, putting everyone in danger. And this person had probably recognized everyone, Marco included, and was wary of them. Scared? Not one bit. He didn’t see fear in its blue eyes, only attention, concentration and the scanning look he had already experienced first-hand.

“Interesting…” Whitebeard said with a grin.

Marco kneeled in front of the dragon with a huff. “You’re feverish, yoi. Let us treat you, then you’ll be free to go away.” He said, but the dragon didn’t move neither acknowledged him. “I promise.”

This seemed to take its attention. The creature sat, scrutinizing him again, then Izo, Thatch, and finally their Captain. He lingered more on the last, giving an annoyed huff. Marco didn’t know if it was in approval, but the dragon nodded and he guessed it was that way.

He didn’t have the time to process his own pride in being trustworthy for the dragon, because the black bundle collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily. Marco took it in his arms and sighed, bringing it to the infirmary without waiting for his pops’ nod, that came nonetheless. The head nurse, Sheila, yelped at the sight of the beast but regained composure quickly and started treating it at his best possibilities… Who in the whole world had ever taken care of a dragon?

Marco looked around, noticing that all the beds visible were occupied. He wondered what happened to have the infirmary full, he’d have to ask pops later. Most of his brothers seemed only lightly scratched, but some were in pain.

“Marco.” He turned to the head nurse, that was holding the dragon in her arms. “He has an infection going on because of the wound.” As he feared… “You did well in cauterizing it. I gave him shots of antibiotic, proteins, vitamins and a bit of sedative.”

The pirate nodded. “Him, yoi?”

“Yeah, it’s a male.”

“Why the sedative?”

“He needs to sleep, and I don’t have any free beds here. You take care of him.” She gave the dragon back to Marco. “Make sure he’s left in peace. Bring him back here tomorrow so I can check him.”

“Ok, I’ll take him to my room then.”

He thanked Sheila and went back on deck with the bundle tangled and soundly asleep. Izo, Thatch and Whitebeard were there, waiting for him.

“So…” The cross-dresser began. “What happened?”

Marco could read utter curiosity and a gleam of understanding in his eyes. “I’ve been blocked on an island for more than five days by a storm, yoi. That’s why I’m late. But, yesterday night, this little one… Well, not so little, crashed on the island where I was staying. He was wounded and let me treat him.” He showed them the scarred shoulder. “The storm subsided this morning, but I didn’t want to leave him alone and sick, yoi. He understood and became this little, so I carried him here.” Marco took a deep breath, he hated talking so much, but it was necessary. “I didn’t know he was a devil fruit user, but…”

“His reaction just before betrayed him, uhm?” Thatch finished for his brother, looking at the dragon. “He doesn’t seem a threat to me, though. Just wary of us, but… How to explain this…”

“The idiot is trying to say that he didn’t feel hate, nor killing intent.” Izo helped. “He was just careful and, I must say, he seems tough. Not many people can hold back their own sickness that way.”

“I like his eyes.” Whitebeard added. “They speaks a lot, of strong will and sad past.”

Marco sighed, looking at the creature. “So, a new guest for the time being, pops?”

“Why not. Take care of him and let me know if anything changes.” His laughter thundered and the pirate smiled.

“Ok, then.” He was going to his cabin when he remembered he had something to ask. “Oh, right, yoi. What happened while I was gone?”

“We had a fight with a fleet of rookies from Paradise.” Thatch grinned. “They were strong, a whole bunch, so we had a big skirmish and it was fun.” He laughed. “A marine ship was also there, but it disappeared right after.”

“And Ace, yoi? I didn’t see him, is he out?”

“Yeah, he wanted to chase a ship that escaped. He should be back in a day at max.” Izo answered.

“Okay then…”

With that said, Marco went to his cabin. It was a big wooden room, with a white sheets bed against one wall, brown wardrobe and desk, full of papers regarding his division, a chair, a black fitted carpet covering the whole floor, a door to the bathroom and a window covered by black curtains. He took three big pillows from the wardrobe and made a nest, or something like that, on one corner of his bed. The pirate put the creature, or man, on them and smiled seeing him stretch contentedly.

He felt a weight lift from his shoulders as he laid on his bed with sleepy eyes. He was finally home, and that was a feeling he wouldn’t give away for anything in the world. The reality of being back downed on him as he fell asleep in the same peaceful way the dragon already was.

 

A stubborn banging on the door made Marco stir out of his blissfully resting sleep. He yawned and stretched on his bed, sitting with blinking eyes and going at his door. He opened it to see Izo standing in the alleyway.

“Hello, sleeping beauty.” He smirked. “You should know it’s already morning and you missed two meals yesterday, not counting breakfast, so the grumpy cook is being depressed over being ignored.”

Marco blinked again and nodded. Morning. He had sure slept for long. Izo went away so he closed the door and decided to take a shower. Then he abruptly remembered he had a guest sleeping with him. He looked at his bed to see the dragon still asleep, but he wasn’t on the pillows. They were scattered on the floor and the creature was sprawled on the sheets.

The pirate huffed, taking clean clothes to the bathroom. He enjoyed the feeling of cold water on his skin and, in a matter of some minutes, he was already dressed again, smelling of lavender. Marco took the black bundle off his bed, a pillow from the floor and carried them to the galley.

The wide room was almost empty, given it was already 11 a.m. Izo, Thatch and Vista were the only ones waiting for him. The cross-dresser was barely keeping in a laughter when Marco joined them with a tray of food. He felt quite hungry. The pirate put the pillow on the table with the tray and deposited the still sleeping creature on the fluffy cloth. He was actually worried if the sedative shouldn’t have stopped working already… But he felt a lot colder than the day before, the warmness from his body was good.

As he started eating his eggs, Thatch was whining and pouting.

“Stop it, bro, he was obviously tired.” Vista said.

The pout didn’t falter. Marco sighed, still controlling the dragon.

“I’m sorry, Thatch, yoi. I slept till now, no jokes.” He said. “And the little one did, too. I should take him to the infirmary.”

Just as he was finishing his sentence, the dragon’s eyes slowly opened and he stretched like a cat with a wide yawn. He looked around, sitting on the pillow. His eyes landed on everyone, lingered more carefully on Vista, and then stopped on Marco and his tray. He suddenly jumped, making the cook yelp and fall back with his chair. The creature attacked voraciously the bacon on the plate and gulped the bread and water. He was so fast Marco couldn’t believe his own eyes.

Like that, the dragon jumped again towards the counter where trays were filled and started rummaging everything left from breakfast. Marco flinched at the speed food was disappearing. Was he a fucking black hole?? He stopped and sat when there was no more and looked around, almost disappointed, licking his paw.

The phoenix stood up, trying to unfreeze from his surprise, and went near him.

“How are you feeling, yoi?”

The dragon looked at him without turning, still licking his paw.

“Your fever has gone down.”

He stopped and turned with piercing eyes. Marco could almost see the question lingering on his face.

“Basically, yes, but I’d prefer you visit the nurse first, for a final check-up, and pops, before leaving.”

He nodded slowly and jumped on the pirate’s shoulder, that waved his hand at his brothers before going away. The little walk to the infirmary was silent, with the dragon sitting straight and warily looking at everyone they passed by.

Sheila was taken aback when she saw the creature looking at her with those eyes and stayed rooted to her place for a full minute. Eventually, the dragon huffed and jumped into her arms. She seemed delighted as they disappeared in a separated room.

Marco, in the meanwhile, was in a blank state. The guest had surely fully recovered so he had no reason to stay any longer. After meeting his pops one last time, he would have gone away and disappear completely. He didn’t know why but the thought left an unpleasant taste in his mouth. Did he already become attached to the dragon? Not even knowing his identity... The pirate sighed with closed eyes and shook his head, trying to rid his mind of such things. This was not happening, him bonding with unknown and such.

“He’s completely fine.” The head nurse’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “He’s almost got your own recovering abilities, the scar is even smaller.” The dragon jumped back on his shoulder. “He doesn’t need any more treatment.” She smiled and went back to her room.

Marco thanked her and started walking to the deck. “Happy, little one?”

The dragon sniffed the air proudly, then looked at the man’s eyes. He could almost picture a smile on the black skin. In retaliation, his own lips curled up a bit.

His pops was waiting on his huge chair, sipping sake as always. Marco shrugged off the small smile and straightened. Needless to say, the Captain had noticed it.

“Good morning, son.” He smiled. “And you, too, little brat.”

The pirate greeted back while the dragon growled in a nod.

“He’s okay now, yoi.”

“Already?” The Captain grinned. “I was right, then, a strong will lies in you.” He looked in the creature’s eyes. “I’d really like to know who you are, but my son promised you freedom, and I’ll oblige. You’re free to go.”

The dragon stood and jumped on one of Whitebeard’s hands. He nodded and started forming something with his paw on the hand. His father’s face became slowly serious and grave.

Marco arched a brow, was the dragon writing something? He couldn’t see clearly from down there. He crossed his arms, feeling a little put aside, but managed to not seem annoyed. The pirate suppressed a flinch when he felt the creature on its shoulder again. He lifted his arms and the dragon landed there, looking at him.

“So, you’re going, yoi.” He sighed despite trying not to. “Take care.”

The dragon started writing some signs, on his hand this time. It was his thanks and a name. The creature put his paws on Marco’s chest and licked his cheek, leaving him startled.

The beast then flapped his wings and jumped up in the sky, becoming bigger and bigger, matching his original size. The figure was lean, muscular, tan and lucent in the sunlight. He roared in the clear sky. The now massive wings brought strong gusts of wind on the deck, where pirates flooded from the inside of the ship. The dragon roared again before heading away on the horizon, black scales reflexing the light.

Marco clenched his fist, where the lines of a name burned his skin, watching the living myth leave. He trusted him enough to give out this little piece of information.

His name was Luffy.

 

 


	2. 02 – Saving a brother

Marco sighed. For the twelfth time. He was sitting on a roof of the Moby Dick, reflecting upon the latest events. And… what a mess…

Eight months had passed since his encounter with the black dragon. Luffy.

After he’d left, Whitebeard had asked him to be careful around one of his new brother. He had said that the dragon had warned him of a possible betrayal. Marco had not wanted to believe such a thing, but, at the same time, he’d been ready to take action against the one. Maybe it was his instinct kicking in… or some unexplainable trust towards Luffy... He honestly didn’t know.

However, a month or so after, Thatch had found a devil fruit on a mission. While his brother bragged about it to everyone, Marco had felt a chill run down his spine, watching the man, Teach, smile in a sinister way. He had decided he didn’t like that behaviour at all, so kept careful eyes trained on him. And luckily, too.

The phoenix couldn’t watch Teach without being discovered, so he had chosen to look after the cook, instead. Fortunately. The damned one had tried to stab Thatch during the night of the same day, in his cabin. Marco stopped him in time but the man took away the fruit and disappeared with some others.

Ace had been furious. He had been appointed as Second Division Commander for only six months, so he felt responsible. They couldn’t stop him, not even Whitebeard. Marco was happy that his brother took seriously his duties, it meant he was deeply attached to the crew, but… He was still away with Striker and the phoenix couldn’t shrug away the bad feeling about the whole mess.

Not counting the dragon was right, they had been betrayed. So easily, too. That irked him to no end… And increased his trust in Luffy. He sighed again, massaging his temples to get rid of the headache. Mulling over things wasn’t going to help, so he turned off his mind and looked at the horizon, taking a long breath.

His attempt was short-lived, Marco began wondering again how Ace was doing. He’d gone away to chase Teach the day after the betrayal. But the Captain had stolen a promise to report back every month, and it was well-kept. So, he should be back the day after, at most.

After another sigh, the pirate noticed Izo coming towards him. The man sat next to him with a smile.

“Being the usual mother-hen won’t help.” He said.

Marco grunted at the hellish nickname. “I know, yoi.”

“Then don’t.”

A sigh was the answer.

“I know it’s hard, ever harder for you, but try thinking of something else.”

“Like?”

“Uhm… The little dragon, maybe?”

Marco’s facial features relaxed a bit.

“Yeah, that’s better.”

The phoenix laid his back on the roof, looking now at the sky. Frankly, he had thought about him a lot. He was a good mystery, after all. He knew only his name, his devil fruit ability and his strong will. He had come and gone so fast that he thought about the events as a dream, sometimes. But, then, his palm still felt the lines drawn by Luffy. He was also puzzled, because he was sure he’d heard the name already, but couldn’t remember where, nor when.

It was strange. He’d known the guy for two days, even less. Yet, he had left a burning mark in his mind. Maybe this was the studying eyes’ fault. Or the prideful air around him. Or the surprises he continuously showed.

“I’m curious, too.” Izo stopped his reverie. “I wonder if we’ll meet him again.”

“I have a feeling that we will, yoi.” He said before controlling his tongue.

“You think so?”

Marco nodded, arms crossed behind his head.

“Thatch said the same, some time ago. And pops, too.” Izo smirked. “I want to fight him.”

“That’s strange coming from you, yoi. I’d understand Vista, or Fossa...”

“They feel the same. Being on the receiving end of that sight is…” He shivered. “… really uncomfortable. But, to be repetitive, it speaks of strength, the kind that I like to test.”

“Such predatory words.” Marco said, closing his eyes. “But I agree.” He smiled, feeling the sun on his skin. “He is interesting.”

Izo arched a brow, ready to say something, but closed his mouth when the news coo landed near him. He gave it the money and took the newspaper, unfolding it on the roof. And froze.

In capital letters, on the first page, a dreadful title towered on the photo of his brother, chained to a stone wall behind metal bars.

“Marco…” He whispered.

The pirate stirred and looked over his shoulder, worried. His eyes widened as those words echoed in his mind.

 

**PIRATE PORTGAS D ACE AWAITING DEATH SENTENCE IN IMPEL DOWN!!**

 

Luffy took a long breath, trying to calm down. His fists unclenched on the paper and let it slip on the wooden table. His hands fell to his knees, eyes shadowed by the brim of his hat.

He had woken up that morning with a feeling of unrest, of dread and alarm. But to think his brother would end up in Impel Down… Waiting for his execution, in a month. The situation was heavenly fucked up, no doubts.

Ace had promised him he wouldn’t die, but how was he going to escape that… No, he probably didn’t even think of fleeing… If Luffy knew well enough that empty head, he was going to accept his death, thinking that he deserves it.

Yeah, true Ace’s fashion, his old demons were far from gone. But, at the same time, he had a family now. Brothers, sisters, a father. They weren’t going to sit and watch quietly as one of them was executed. Luffy had seen with his own eyes their behaviour, their wills, their souls. They were kind, enough to help a completely unknown person.

Surely, they would do something. Not at Impel Down, too risky. They were going to appear in Marineford, all fleet present. A war. So, what about him?

Luffy placed his elbows on the table and his chin on his left fist, holding the newspaper again with his free hand. Sanji was in the kitchen, too, cleaning dishes. The others were scattered on the Sunny.

He sighed. The captain had his own crew to think about. He didn’t want to pull them in his personal problem and end up in a pinch. They had their own dreams to achieve and this was too dangerous. He had to do this alone. Plus, his crew mates knew his brother, they had met him in Alabasta.

“Sanji.” He called.

“Aye, captain?” The cook turned, towel in hands.

“Ace has been captured by the marines.”

“What…?” He got near and read the article. “How the hell…”

“Probably Teach’s fault. Please, call everyone.”

The cook nodded and vanished outside on deck. He could hear his voice. Luffy sighed, wondering how he could tell them what he was going to do.

One by one, the kitchen was full and the table filled with Nami, Robin, Usopp, Brook and Chopper. Zoro was leaning on the doorframe, Franky sat cross-legged on the floor and Sanji was back behind the counter. Everyone wore a sad expression, looking back and forth from the newspaper to their captain.

“What are you going to do?” Zoro said, breaking the silence.

“I won’t leave him in their hands.” Luffy whispered after a sigh. “I’m going to Impel Down. Me, alone.”

“No, you are not.” Nami said harshly.

“Captain.” Robin called. “That prison is underwater, armoured, with hundreds of marines keeping watch on the captives.”

“That’s beyond your usual craziness.” Sanji added.

“Yeah, even crazier than when you’ve gone to sink the bandits’ fleet some months ago.” Usopp nodded.

“It’s exactly what I have to do, though.”

“Luffy-san, you want to use your powers, in the end?” Brook asked.

“And say goodbye to this job. You know well the only reason why I joined the marines.”

Silence fell again. Nami was biting her lower lip while looking at the side. Sanji was exhaling his cigarette’s smoke. Zoro was piercing Luffy with surrender written all over his face. Brook was unreadable. Usopp, Franky and Chopper were sad. Robin had lost her smile.

“Luffy.” She said. “I want to help.”

“Robin, you aren’t marines, none of you can enter the prison.”

“She didn’t say that.” Nami scoffed. “I want to help, too. Just tell us what we can do.”

Luffy sighed. “I plan to enter officially for a visit to Crocodile.”

“The ex-Shichibukai? Why?” Sanji asked.

“Because no one knows of my relationship with Ace. The gator is sure to be in the last level of the prison, my brother will be there, too.”

“The question, answer.” Zoro stated.

“I was thinking of involving the Whitebeard’s pirates.”

A chorus of ‘what’ mixed with a ‘huh’ roared in the kitchen.

“Ace is the Second Division Commander, right?” The swordsman gripped his chin. “And they helped you when wounded, that time.”

Luffy nodded. “I must head to Impel Down as soon as possible. If you want to help me, search for them.”

“How?” Nami asked.

“They were last sighted in Paradise.” The captain took a map handed to him by the cook. He circled an area with his index. “Search here, I’ll bring with me a Den Den Mushi, let me know how everything goes. When you meet them, Zoro, ask for Marco the Phoenix and tell him my name. You’ll probably find them before I get to enter.”

“Do you need a ship, Luffy?” Franky said.

“No, I’ll fly to the marine post nearest to Impel Down. Thanks, anyway.” He smiled. “Now, guys, thread carefully. They’re fine people, but strong.”

“Aye, captain.” The vice said.

“Ok, then.” Luffy stood and went on the deck.

His white cape fluttered in the wind. He took the snail from Brook’s hands and sighed.

“I’m sorry for this mess. I’ll make sure Ace is, too. Be careful and call me whenever you need or want.”

The smiles of his crew members made his limbs relax. He trusted them. They were going to be safe. His instincts told him so. Luffy jumped high in the sky and morphed to the medium size of his dragon form. He flew away with his tail swinging in the air, disappearing over the clouds.

 

“Pops, everyone is coming.” Izo sat cross-legged on the captain’s knee.

“Good, good.” He didn’t have his sake. “Marco, how many days?”

“Eleven, yoi.” The pirate slumped against the chair and sighed. “This is going to be war.”

“Of course. They took one of my sons.” The shadow of a smirk lit for a bit Whitebeard’s face. “They asked for it.”

“And we’re answering.” Thatch emerged from the inside of the ship. “I hope Ace is fine.”

“He’s though, damn cook, stop worrying, you’re starting to resemble this mother-hen.”

“I’m not a mother-hen, yoi.”

“Marco, face the truth.” His father joked.

The phoenix felt like sulking. “Pops, you too….”

The signature laughter filled the air, a lot smaller than usual. He was going to pout inwardly, but Namur’s yell caught their attention.

“SHIP ON THE HORIZON!”

Marco morphed and flew up on the crow’s nest. On the line of the sea, a big ship was sailing, apparently coming right their way. He took the spyglass. The flag was one of the World Government.

“They’re marines, yoi.” He said, jumping down.

“Already?” Izo went to the railing.

“Strange. Maybe they’re only passing by.” Thatch gripped his chin.

“Let’s wait and see.” Whitebeard ordered.

Anyway, the ship, whose figurehead was a lion, got near and stopped far enough, facing the Moby Dick. Without warnings, a swordsman appeared on the deck, right in front of their captain. Marco was jumping to attack the green-haired man, but a blonde appeared out of nowhere, kicking his head. The man was sent flying out of the ship and in the sea.

The other one, that was smoking a cigarette, looked around with an annoyed expression and sighed soundly. Then, surprising everyone, he bowed.

“I’m deeply sorry for marimo’s behaviour. He knows no manners. My name’s Sanji, who here is Marco the Phoenix?”

Marco blinked twice before talking, still in an offensive stance. “I am, yoi.”

Sanji looked at him with a nod. “Luffy.”

The pirate narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Why were marines asking him of the dragon?

“What about him, yoi?”

Maybe his tone was a bit angry, because the man lifted his hands in surrender. “Oh, no, I’m not searching for him. He sent us here.” He pointed at the ship, on which deck some people were watching the exchange. “He wanted us to search for you.” He nodded at Whitebeard.

In the meanwhile, the so-called marimo was climbing back on the Moby Dick, cursing loudly against a shitty cook.

“Why?” Marco asked.

“Because he is our captain.” The swordsman was checking his weapons with a bored look.

“Captain?” Izo asked in a whisper. “He is a marine captain?”

“Truthfully, he is higher, and we’re not marines.” Sanji puffed some smoke. “Wait, how did you understand that??”

Izo arched an unimpressed brow and pointed his thumb in the ship’s direction. The blonde flinched.

“USOPP!!! I TOLD YOU TO PUT THAT FLAG AWAY!!!” The man jumped there and started kicking some long-nosed, afro boy around.

“Craziness aside...” The swordsman looked at Marco. “We’re not here to engage battle. Luffy is right now waiting his permission to enter Impel Down.”

“And why’s that?” Whitebeard thundered from his seat, taking the man’s gaze.

“He wants to avoid a war and save Ace.”

“Ace?” Thatch tilted his head.

“Ah, you don’t know, right… Ace is Luffy’s brother.”

 

Luffy sighed. The whole thing was going to be a huge, massive, hellish mess. Not that he didn’t like it, fights were entertaining. But escaping the prison with that level of security was a dangerous bet. And he wasn’t considering the damn fact that the execution was to take place in three hours or so.

At the moment, he was being escorted by Hannyabal, the vice warden, and Sadi-chan, the chief guard, to level 6. Fortunately, Magellan had his usual stomach diseases.

He felt comforted by the presence of the Whitebeard’s men, at least. Though, Sanji had told him they were damn hard to convince. The old man, even after hearing the plan about the escape, had wanted to still go at war. Granted, what a Yonko wants, he gets. But Luffy had managed to gain a bargain. After Sanji and Robin politely, against Zoro’s behaviour, talked them into, at least damnit!, hear his Captain’s idea. Stubborn pirates.

Diplomacy aside… He’d had a rather talkative session over the Den Den Mushi with him and a few of his Commanders, Marco, Izo, Fossa, Vista and Thatch. They had agreed only after the part of them as a battle distraction. God… He was trying to evade that! Was it so hard to understand? Escape from a battlefield, one that the Marines had wanted, totally easy, right.

He shook his head and held back a sigh. Strangely, Marco, even if being present, had been awfully quiet. Well, he hadn’t struck Luffy as the talkative type, but… It was unsettling. Just a feeling. He knew he was probably at fault, for the whole marine thing, but seriously… What could he have done?... Why the hell did this little thing make him so sad, anyway??

“Is there a problem, Rear Admiral?” The vice asked with that pride of fake power.

“I don’t like being caged.” He lied through gritted teeth.

“Oh, when the visit is over, you’ll be free again.” He cheered.

_‘Not only me.’_

The elevator stopped and they entered the stone corridor. A lot of known prisoners sat behind strong bars, some with seawater handcuffs. He mentally thanked being promoted the month prior, it freed him of the cuffs for the visit.

They walked through the alleyway for some minutes, among insults thrown by the prisoners and whistles. Luffy suppressed a snort as Crocodile came in sight.

“You have half an hour, we’ll come back to fetch you then.”

With that, the two walked away. When the boy heard the elevator’s hinges, he turned from the heated glare of the gator and searched frantically. From what he knew, the prisoners waiting for execution were kept at the corner farthest from the entrance.

Luffy ignored the prisoners’ calls and used his haki to locate Ace. After some moments, he started running to the left, passing by several cells. The last in the corridor had two man. One was Jinbe, the fishman with the title of Shichibukai, that seemed flabbergasted by his presence. The other was his brother, the dumb head, that was hanging low, arms chained to the wall.

“I don’t even want to start my reprimand, I’ll leave the pleasure to that family of yours.” He said, looking around to assess there weren’t any witnesses.

Ace flinched at the ire saturating the air and looked up abruptly. His eyes widened. Luffy scoffed and morphed his hand, striking the bars with his claws. The metal made a loud sound and bended horribly, making a hole in which the marine could pass.

Being in front of his brother, Luffy punched his head and nodded to Jinbe. “Why are you here?” He ignored the whine.

“Luffy-kun. You really came…” He glanced at Ace. “I refused to join the war… They stripped me of my title.”

The marine nodded and punched his brother again. “You’ll come with me, then. Yours are normal cuffs, right?”

With Jinbe’s nod, Luffy armoured his fists with haki and destroyed the metal. “Take Ace and follow me.”

“What the hell, Luffy!!”

The fishman did as told and asked: “How do you plan to escape?”

“We have 17 minutes of peace left. I want to see if legends are true.”

 

Marco had always thought to be a patient man. He put up with his brother’s pranks, looked after them, after pops’ insane alcohol addiction, took care of his Division with diligence, skipped sleep to help around the ship.

He couldn’t have imagined to not be patient enough to wait a signal. He was waiting, for three hours he’s been, a bell. The one warning about emergencies. The pirate was lying in his devil fruit form in one of the crow’s nest surrounding the prison, hidden.

No, it wasn’t a problem of nerves or tension. He was worried, sure, but not enough to be so restless. The question remained, then… Why was this so stressful?

Maybe it wasn’t the waiting itself, as much as the situation. Turned out the dragon he’d saved was a marine, a Rear Admiral, to be exact. That arose so many questions that his mind buzzed and shut down. To begin with, what was a marine of that calibre doing in the New World, wounded and alone? Why had the news not reached even once the paper? How strong was he really to have that title? Why didn’t he try to capture them?

No, wait, that had an answer, actually. The dragon had noticed Marco’s identity when he was already on the Moby Dick, surrounded by the crew and on Whitebeard’s presence. Of course he wouldn’t have done anything, damn it. He was feverish and alone.

So, going on… Why did he trust them after noticing where he was? Why help them with Teach’s betrayal? He understood finally how the hell the dragon had known about it. And, the most puzzling, why did he give out his name to Marco? This was way beyond simple understanding of not having escape’s way. It was dangerous. If he had succeeded in keeping his own identity far from reporter’s ears, he surely was smart and careful. Giving out that info was…

Marco groaned, feeling his head buzz from thinking too hard. Really, when was the last time he had so many problems with unveiling one’s personality? He could not remember, makes one wonder how old he really was… Or maybe it hadn’t ever happened before. More like it.

Regaining his thinking ability… Ok, he was a marine, he was in a dangerous situation, surrounded by pirates, and everything, lalala… So, he didn’t even try to say he was Ace’s brother. He must have known of him being in Whitebeard’s crew. This spoke of honesty and wisdom, something he didn’t really expect from one that had lived with Ace during childhood. Moreover, the fire user did talk about his brother. That was when Marco had heard the name Luffy before, from his mouth.

According to Ace, he was a happy-go-lucky, cocky, scared of nothing brat that acted on instincts and didn’t think. Surely, something must have changed him drastically, else things would have gone oh so differently.

And what about that call on the Den Den Mushi? Only some of the crew and pops had heard the determined voice telling them the plan to rescue Ace. Marco had felt tiredness through it but kept the notion to himself. Though, Luffy’s crew had worn a strange expression.

And, seriously, what a crew… A pirate hunter, a cook that had a fire leg when fighting but without any devil fruit’s ability, a woman thief, a woman wanted from the World Government since 9, a racoon… no, scratch that, he was a reindeer, a long-nosed boy that shot seeds, a robot… and a skeleton. A fucking, moving skeleton. With an afro. That played the violin. And was a renown superstar. Half of the ship had fainted at his sight, not that he blamed them. Frankly, was it not for his Phoenix, he would have paled. Even pops had choked on his sake.

A loud ringing alarm took his attention away from his musings. Life on the ships turned on and marines began squirming like ants towards the closed gate of the outer wall circle. He looked at the clock, one hour until the execution, half until the arrival of the transportation ship.

He morphed into his biggest form, blue flames catching instantly the attention of everyone. A lot of gasps and yells filled the air, probably Brook, Zoro and Jozu were doing the same. He flew on deck and started kicking the men outside the ship, in the sea. They needed to take control of at least one ship to escape, while Moby Dick stalled Marineford’s army to not arise suspicions and Sunny waited for them.

Turned out that, in less than ten minutes, they had four ships at their disposal. Zoro and Jozu sank one and brought the others in front of the main gate just as it was opening.

Now, Marco wasn’t stupid, he knew possibilities of escaping were low, if not inexistent. So, don’t blame him if he almost let his chin fall to the floor when he saw an army of Okama lead by Jinbe, Ace, Emporio Ivankov and a midget with raven hair running like mad towards them. And was that Magellan??

He rapidly went to the wheel and ordered the others to set sail. They took only two ships and sank the other. While they were starting to get away, a horde of men and women landed on the two decks. The Chief Warden was left speechless and breathless on the gate, looking at the lost ships.

“Luffy, damn you!!”

“What was that coming from the damsel in danger??”

The midget punched Ace as Marco was getting near him to check his wounds.

“Ouch!! Who’s the damsel?!?”

“You, shithead, were going to accept the sentence!! Don’t you dare deny it!” An index poked in accusation Ace’s nose.

The fire user blushed slightly and looked at the side, when he noticed the pirate. “Marco?” He gazed at his brother and then back. “With Luffy?”

“Yeah, dumb head, you thought I would come and save you without a plan to escape??”

Marco finished looking for wounds, finding only scratches, and observed the other boy. He was short, though muscular, with a moon-shaped scar below his left eye. His raven hair was covered by a strangely familiar straw hat. The white marine cape fluttered around a black half-opened shirt and black leather pants.

“In fact, yes. I thought that.” Ace said, earning another punch. “Stop it!”

“Even though I keep hitting you, I don’t feel satisfied…” Luffy shook his head and looked finally at Marco with a smirk. “Nice to meet you, Marco. Thanks for the help.” As if remembering his anger, he hit again his brother, that whined.

“Nice to meet you, too, yoi. Maybe you should stop.”

“Ah, no, I’ll faint soon, anyway.”

Marco arched a brow. “Why?”

“Iva gave me some shots after a rough encounter with Magellan, the adrenaline rush should subside in some minutes. Zoro.” The swordsman made his way towards the captain through the mass of okamas. “Have you called Nami?”

“Yes, they’re on their way.”

“Okay, keep this route, and you should call Whitebeard.”

“Jozu’s already doing so, yoi.”

“Well, then…” Luffy sighed with half-lidded eyes. “ …goodnight.”

Marco propped forward in time to catch the boy.

“About time.” He turned to see the huge head of Ivankov, Commander of the Revolutionary Army, blinking in bewilderment. “You should bving him to a bed and let him vest.”

“Strange, in a normal situation, he wouldn’t sleep until on his ship.” Zoro commented.

“Gveen-boy, you’re his vice, vight?” The swordsman nodded. “Ve’ll take one ship and go back to ouv island, this vay they’ll have a havdev time finding us.”

“That’s okay for us, Marco?”

The phoenix nodded, walking to the inside of the ship with Luffy cradled in his arms. It was a strangely familiar situation, he found himself thinking with a slight smile.

“Say hi and thanks fov me to hat-boy.”


	3. 03 – Little Talks

Marco sighed. What a headache. Escaping the marines had been easy, for them and for pops. They had sunk the marine ship after reaching the Sunny, on which they had later joined Whitebeard.  
Luffy had slept all throughout the journey and was still sleeping in his hammock. Really, how much had he pushed himself… It was worrying him, but his doctor, Chopper, had said to Ace he was okay. So, he had to wait. Again. So utterly annoying.  
He was happy, of course. The midget had accomplished a lot, avoiding a war, saving probably more than a life, but Marco had a feeling he wanted only to save Ace in the safest way possible. The others to hell.  
Well, not that escaping Impel Down was safe, not a little bit. But he succeeded, who was he to judge? Marco watched from the roof of the Moby Dick the marine flag of the Sunny being brought down, a jolly roger with a straw hat on top replacing it.  
That was to take into consideration, too. Luffy was not a marine anymore, but he hadn’t seemed sad by the fact. Who knew now what was going on in his head, really. Marco didn’t want to increase his pain.  
He sighed again and dropped his back onto the roof, arms crossed behind his aching head, and closed his eyes. It was night, so the darkness covered him nicely. Ace was currently going through a loud scolding by Izo in the infirmary, where the nurses had taken care of wounds.  
He smiled slightly, remembering the reactions of his brothers seeing Ace safe and sound. Their pops had been tired so he was in his room resting.  
A loud crash made him jump on the deck. On the Sunny, that was sailing alongside the Moby Dick, a cloud of dust was dissolving. Marco saw two legs and three swords sticking out of debris and Sanji smoking and fuming on a doorframe.  
“GO GET DRUNK SOMEWHERE ELSE! I NEED TO COOK FOR THE CAPTAIN!!”  
And with that shout, he disappeared inside, loudly slamming the door. Marco jumped on the ship, approached the swordsman and helped him get up.  
“Shitty cook.”  
“You okay, yoi?”  
“Yeah, thanks.” In one hand he had a bottle of sake. “Damn, I was only to–”  
Another loud crash, from the lower deck this time, stopped Zoro’s explanation. Luffy jumped up towards the door where Sanji had disappeared without sparing them a glance.  
“Here comes the black hole.”  
Marco then remembered how the dragon had finished all that food in the galley those months before. It wasn’t only a one-time strangeness, then.  
“I bet he’s still sleeping.” The vice went to the window and gazed inside with a smirk. “Yeah, he is.” He shook his head and, with a wave, went away to the crow’s nest.  
The pirate neared the glass and blinked a few times. The boy was indeed still sleeping… but he was eating, too. At an impossibly fast pace. From inside, Sanji was shaking his head with a fond smile. He then looked at him and nodded.  
“Come in.”  
Marco obliged, sitting on a chair far from the eating machine. The sounds of munching and biting and scrunching were loud. A lot of cooked meat was left in a pyramid on the table. It was rapidly vanishing in the black hole, anyway.  
“He’s always like this, yoi?” He asked arching a brow, nodding towards the monster.  
“No. This happens when he’s really tired and really hungry at the same time.” Sanji took a plate of soup from the pot. “I think the situation stressed him a lot.” He placed it in front of Marco. “It’s warm, eat before he notices it.” And took one for himself. “He’ll wake up in half an hour or so. Maybe.”  
“And the recklessness?” The pirate had to admit the soup was delicious.  
“He acts like that every single time.” Sanji took away his cigarette and started eating. “Once, he went against a king to protect our doctor. If he was a pirate, no prob, but he was a marine...” He scoffed.  
“I see your point, yoi.”  
“Hey, he was annoying!”  
“Yeah, Luffy, I know… Oh, good night there.”  
Luffy was awake. Marco couldn’t decide if it was natural or because of the accusations. His half-lidded eyes were still sleepy, though.  
“Sunny… Marco… Whitebeard near… Ace?”  
“He’s in the infirmary, undergoing scolding, yoi.”  
He nodded and stretched. The pirate then noticed he didn’t have his white cape anymore.  
“Someone tried to reach the official channel?”  
“Yeah, but I didn’t answer.”  
“Good. What happened on Marineford?”  
“Whitebeard said they almost engaged battle. Sengoku was suspicious but didn’t catch on what was happening until someone reported of the breakdown. You were already safe by then, so the pirates retired with a lot of commotion.”  
Luffy sighed with his head propped on his hand, elbow on the table, biting some meat. “Gramps?”  
“Nothing.”  
“Damn geezer…” A bulb lit in his head. “Jinbe?”  
“He’s on the Yonko’s ship’s infirmary, all patched up.”  
“Ivankov?”  
“He said to tell you ‘hi and thanks’. He took the second ship and ran away.”  
“I guess he took everyone else with him…” Luffy smirked. “I’d give anything to see his face when he wakes up.”  
The door suddenly opened, taking from Marco the occasion to inquire, and the little reindeer entered. “Luffy!!” Chopper jumped into his captain’s stomach, spearing him. “How are you?? Do you feel pain?? Call a doctor!!!”  
Luffy laughed, patting his crew mate. “Chopper, you are the doctor…” Sanji said with a smile.  
“OH! Right! Let me check.”  
Marco blinked and shook his head. They were all crazy, indeed. How on earth did this bunch of people get together? Maybe the centre of the craziness was the Captain. He finished his soup and thanked Sanji.  
“No problem.” He shrugged and took the empty plates away.  
“Everything’s all right, Luffy.”  
“Iva took care of the poison, don’t worry.”  
Chopper nodded and went outside again with a wide smile, followed by a waving Sanji.  
“I need to sleep.” He had said, stretching his arms.  
The pirate looked then to Luffy, that was drinking some water.  
“I’m sorry.” He said abruptly, gazing straight into his eyes.  
Marco blinked confusedly. “For what, yoi?”  
He sighed, rolling his orbs. “For not telling. That I am… was a marine. I used you and your kindness.”  
“You did not.” Luffy looked back again, sceptical. “You didn’t want my help since the beginning, yoi. Even if you didn’t know who I was, you trusted me. And then, you knew, but trusted us.” The other glanced at his left. “Why?”  
He stayed silent for a bit. “Because I knew I could.”  
“Simply by inspecting us, yoi?”  
Luffy nodded. “I remembered you were Ace’s family the day after.”  
As an afterthought… Oh, right, the fever. The dragon had fainted back then.  
“What happened to you?”  
The question surprised, oddly, both. It was the mystery that had wrapped his mind most of the day. Could he reign in his tongue and mind? Even once??  
“I mean…” He coughed. “Ace always depicted you differently.”  
The other’s lips shaped a ‘o’. “I...” He seemed at a loss for words. “I was forced to become a marine. My grandfather ‘bribed’” he gestured with his hands “me into it.”  
Marco’s eyes narrowed. The only kind of bribe that could deter someone off pursuing his dream… Someone dear in danger. This was the only thing possible, if going along Ace’s repetitive description of his little brother.  
As if reading his thoughts, Luffy talked again. “Ace.” He sighed. “He told me Ace was being held prisoner by Whitebeard and the only way to free him was to join.” Another sigh and Marco decided not to correct him. “So, I did. I learned a lot while following him around, to behave, too, and to think before acting.” This time a mischievous smirk adorned his face. “But then you pirates had to go and make him one of you.”  
“It was not easy, yoi.” Even he smirked at the memory. “He’s stubborn.”  
“I can imagine.” He laughed. “He’s always been. I guess you know his secret.” Marco nodded, more serious. “Then I have to thank you, again.”  
“I consider him one of my brothers, you don’t have to thank me, yoi.”  
Luffy grinned. This smile was a lot brighter than before. Almost blinding. It made Marco blink.  
“What gave you that wound?”  
“A spear. I was getting rid of some bandits sailing around that island. In the storm, they managed to hit me.”  
“Why did you go alone, yoi?” Damn, he had to stop this shit.  
“It was a mission, I didn’t want to change our route.”  
The talk then fell into lighter subjects. For Marco, this was almost unprecedented. He wasn’t a talkative person, never been. Aside with Whitebeard, no one really succeeded in busying him so much and with so many words exchanged. He found his thoughts racing, trying to reach the reasons.  
“Yeah, his narcolepsy is quite entertaining… shishishi!”  
“I agree, yoi. Though, he gave us, almost everyone, a near heart attack. Collapsing like that face-first in the plate…”  
Maybe he was stressed out and this was a way to vent? No, he wasn’t venting, damn. They were conversing about past adventures on the sea and more. How on earth could that be considered venting?! So, option one, scratched.  
“Well, we were grown by bandits.”  
“That explains a lot…”  
Maybe he was tired, and this was his way of relaxing? Yeah, right, and of course ‘relaxing’, in his personal book, meant speaking. Let’s scratch option two, too.  
“Pops was stubborn enough, yoi.”  
“I must say, more than Ace.”  
“He joined, so you may be right.”  
Maybe he was curious? This was slightly more probable. The boy in front of him was a complete mystery, in his humble opinion. Dragon devil fruit ability, ex-marine, escaped from Impel Down with the son of the Pirate King… Go figures Luffy’s family, now…  
“Of course, we’re not bonded by blood. It’s a lot more important and solid.”  
“I had a feeling…”  
Yes, that was definitely it… Or a part of it. Honestly, he was thinking that the other part was off limits. For now. Too dangerous, his instincts were screaming in his head, this time dulling the omnipresent ache.  
At around 4 a.m., the boy fell asleep again, changing his form to baby dragon. He noticed that only because the talking had gradually lowered and disappeared. Marco debated what to do. He was sleepy by then, too, so he wanted to go to his room. But he also didn’t want to leave Luffy there. He sighed. He couldn’t bring the boy to his hammock, his mates were sleeping and he could have awoken them.  
Marco took the black bundle and returned to the Moby Dick, in his room. He chose the pillows from those months before and put them in the same place. Luffy seemed comfortable enough to stretch on his back. With a smile, the pirate laid on his bed, wary of the animal.  
Thinking about it… Why did he morph? Was he planning to sleep on the table? He couldn’t have done it on purpose to be brought in his room… He fell asleep with the growing fear of what the prankster of the ship was going to say or do about the situation. The man shivered a bit before darkness took control.

Three hours later, Marco woke up with a strange feeling. He blinked groggily and looked around. The pirate was lying with his back on the bed. He was about to sit, when he understood what was the problem.  
On his chest, Luffy was curled up, breathing evenly in deep sleep. He arched a brow. How the hell was the boy able to sneak up on him... He was trained to wake up even with a light breeze flowing through the cracks of wood.  
He sighed, feeling the headache coming fiercely against him. He brushed a hand on his face and held up the dragon, sitting with him on his legs. Marco absently nudged with his right index the black nose and smiled at the huff. He took one pillow from the floor and positioned him there, standing up to take a shower. The man discarded his clothes on the sink and let the cold water sooth his skin and hair. The headache subsided almost instantly, making him sigh again.  
He was honestly curious what his pops was going to say to Luffy. The man had said the boy was interesting, so Marco wasn’t worried, only curious and a bit thrilled.  
With a grin, he started brushing his hair with a towel and cursed his mind. He had forgotten to take clean clothes, and those were really too dirty for his liking. He wrapped the bigger blue towel around his waist and hoped the boy was still sleeping.  
Marco opened the door and sighed, seeing the dragon curled with closed eyes. He went to the wardrobe to get dressed, letting the towel slip. The clothes were blissfully warm, in contrast to his cold skin. He closed it and turned, violet opened shirt blue pants and sash in place. Then froze.  
The baby dragon wasn’t there anymore. Luffy was sprawled on his bed, stretching like a cat with a huge yawn. And it was so se”… No. No. He wasn’t going in that zone. Not ye”… NO!  
Back to the situation at hand. Was he half-asleep, thinking to still be a dragon? The boy blinked, looking around and stopping at him. Marco shivered in being at those eyes’ mercy, again. But… This time it was different… He felt judged, yes, but also…  
A Cheshire grin almost made him flinch. Luffy launched at Marco, that stumbled and fell on the floor with a loud thud. He hissed, bringing a hand to his calf, where he hit.  
He opened one teary eye and found Luffy too near to be comfortable. He was going to voice this, but a lick to the corner of his lips made his mind shut down. Literally. With wide eyes. For several minutes. In which the boy laughed silently and fled out through the window.  
Thatch barged in without restraints with a worried face. “Marco!!” He looked at his brother, still on the floor, and ran to him. “Are you all right?” He touched his shoulder and the man finally regained thoughts’ process.  
He gazed over the cook, then at the open window, and sighed with closed eyes, touching his forehead. “Yeah, I’m okay, yoi.” He answered.  
Did the boy really lick him?! AGAIN?!? What the hell was he thinking, really…  
“You sure…?”  
Marco nodded and stood up. “Don’t worry. Pops?”  
“He’s eating breakfast.”  
“The hosts?”  
“Still on their ship, but he sent Izo to bring them on ours.”  
They fell into silence and joined the others in the galley for breakfast, where most of their brothers were fussing over Ace’s usual show of narcolepsy. Marco took his tray and joined his table, while Thatch went back to the kitchen.  
“Hey, Ace.”  
“‘Morning, Marco!” Then he promptly fell asleep.  
Well, it was a good sign, anyway. It meant he was feeling relaxed and safe. Good.  
He had barely begun eating when the chaos of the room quieted down a bit. He looked at the entrance and saw the full crew of the Sunny walking in without a care, following Izo and Luffy, that was wearing the same Cheshire grin from before. He couldn’t suppress a shiver and thanked whatever that no one noticed.  
Izo was smiling while talking with the boy and leading them to a table. He seemed too pleased for his liking… Marco finished eating his breakfast and left Ace, still face-first in his plate, walking out and to the deck. He sat at the armrest of his pops’ chair with crossed legs, elbows on knees and head on a palm.  
Whitebeard observed him curiously with an arched brow, but didn’t ask anything. He simply smiled and continued drinking from the sake bottle. The fact soothed the First Division Commander, that sighed, closing his eyes.  
That boy was driving him crazy. In some hidden corner, his mind had processed that Luffy was doing this on purpose, but he promptly ignored it. This simply was not possible. Why would a boy 19 years old cause him the need of another cold shower? Oh yeah, he could understand when something… or, better, someone… attracted him that way. The strange thing was that it was a boy, so much younger than him, that had ignited his instincts.  
How many years had passed since the last time… A lot. And it had not been pleasant. How could it be when forced… He had never had these urges since those times… So. DAMN. How could that boy leave such a burn on his skin, almost kissing him, why the hell did he do that in the first place??  
“Marco.” The tone was a little reprimanding. “You think too much.”  
A cold shiver downed on his back. He wasn’t thinking loud, right?  
“No, but your mind is loud enough for me to hear.”  
He sighed. “And what did you hear, yoi?”  
Whitebeard gulped some liquor. “You’re holding back.”  
“That’s usual…”  
“Not at all. You hold back your killing intent towards the pranksters of the ship, but not the feelings of brotherhood.”  
“… What are you implying, pops?”  
“That you should let it flow, whatever it is.”  
“But–”  
“Do not fight it, Marco. Search for your personal happiness, and fear not of others’ judgment. You’re my son, you’re the son of the sea, you’re free. Catch the occasions presented to you, whenever you can.”  
The man smiled. Freedom. It was true. He wasn’t a slave anymore. Hadn’t been for many years. He could do whatever he wanted. And he wanted the boy, that was obvious. As was the nudging feeling Luffy was being captivating on purpose.  
Said boy joined them in that moment, with Zoro and Sanji in tow. Marco levelled that still present smirk with one of his own. It was all it took to make him decide what to do.  
Luffy nodded to Whitebeard and glanced for an instant towards him. That gaze held surprise and enjoyment.  
“Monkey D Luffy.”  
“Whitebeard. I must thank you for helping me.”  
“And we owe you for preventing a war and saving Ace. You had to leave your position.”  
The boy waved a hand. “It wasn’t important, my job was forced on me by gramps. And it helped me save Ace, so I don’t need it anymore.”  
“Gramps?”  
“My grandfather, Monkey D Garp.”  
Whitebeard laughed loudly. “I understand now. A lot of things. What do you plan to do now?”  
“We’re outlaws, pirates like you, and have our dreams and objectives. We’ll go back to our original route.”  
“Ooooh, so soooon?!” Thatch’s whiny voice reached them from the door.  
The cook ran to Luffy and gripped his hands with a pout. Izo came, too, still oddly pleased.  
“Yes, we lost enough time already.” Luffy answered, a little fidgety.  
“But I was preparing a party for tonight!” Another whine.  
A thick mark appeared on Marco’s forehead, who seemed calm, anyway.  
“With booze?” / “With meat?”  
Were Captain and Vice coordinated? Thatch nodded fast with a hoping smile. Sanji face-palmed with a huff.  
“I guess we’ll go tomorrow...”  
The final decision made Sanji sigh and Thatch jump, Luffy’s hands still clutched in his. The cook briefly hugged the boy and went back, probably to the kitchen, followed suit by Sanji, while Marco was trying his hardest to hold back an ill intent of punching and kicking his own brother.  
… Though, he had to thank the cook. He had successfully made the crew wait, until the day after, to depart. And that, consequently, gave Marco more time to act on his plans. He smirked, looking at Luffy. The ex-marine was smiling sympathetically while waving at Zoro, that jumped to the Sunny, sulking.  
“So, Ace is your brother.” Whitebeard said, catching Luffy’s attention.  
“Not by blood, if that’s what you’re curious about.”  
The huge man nodded. “You grew up together, then.”  
Luffy grinned. “Yep, in a forest. Oh, thinking about it, how much did you scold the dumb head? He is still sleeping on the table.”  
“I heard the nurses yell a lot, but nothing more.” The Captain laughed. “What are you going to do to him?”  
“Depends on how he behaves.”  
Marco suppressed a shiver, looking at those narrowed and ominous black eyes. He had never felt so relieved to not be at the end of a threat. Because, as brotherly as that was, it was a clear one.  
“How did you manage to break out of Impel Down?”  
Luffy arched a brow and glanced at Marco, then sighed. “I went there to speak to Crocodile, then asked help to Emporio Ivankov in the 5.5 level. Legends were true, after all. They escaped with me but took another ship to easily make the marine lose our tracks.”  
“Why would someone like Ivankov help you willingly?”  
The teen looked at the Captain with disbelief. “You understood that already.”  
Whitebeard’s signature laughter thundered on the ship. “Cheeky brat.”  
Luffy smirked. “I was forgetting. Thanks for helping me that time.” He morphed the skin on his arm into black bluish scales. “You all saved me.”  
The huge man’s eyes twinkled in enjoyment. “It was no problem. My son wanted to help you and I had no reason to refuse.” He smirked widely. “Turned out he helped a member of the crew.”  
Marco matched his pops’ grin at the shock on Luffy’s face. “What?”  
“Technically, you’re my son’s brother.”  
The boy rolled his eyes. “That’s tricky.” He smirked back. “But I’m not part of your crew, and I won’t be. I need to be independent, after all.”  
“What for?” Whitebeard inquired with an arched brow.  
“I will become the Pirate King.”  
The confidence that filled the sentence and his eyes allowed no room for objections. He was not talking about a dream. He was stating a fact. That only made Marco more and more curious and… eager.  
Whitebeard laughed loudly, visibly pleased and thrilled. In a different way than his son’s, obviously. Luffy lost a bit of cheekiness against the various emotion that slipped from Marco for a fleeting and too-soon-gone moment. He blinked in surprise. Even Whitebeard had felt the wild will, but he only smirked more and eyed his son.  
“I did say you were an interesting one.” Izo said with a chuckle, shaking his head in mild exasperation and stealing a glance towards his brother. “So, you’re going to follow the Logue Pose, where was your ship?”  
“We were about to reach Sabaody Archipelago.” Luffy nodded curtly.  
“You’re in need of someone that can coat your ship.”  
“Actually…” The ex-marine looked down in thought. “We have someone waiting. He said he knows a man that can help us… Teach Franky how to coat the ship, too.”  
“Someone willing to help on Sabaody?” Whitebeard asked, curious.  
“Hatchan told me so. An old friend of his.”  
“Hatchan, yoi?” Marco perked up. “Isn’t he an ex-member of Jinbe’s old crew?”  
The Captain nodded. Luffy tilted his head, as if searching for the answer. Rather cute. Oh, right, he had a plan to set into motion… Even though his mind was slowly scratching it and urging him…  
“He was in Arlong’s crew when I met him for the first time. Usopp beat him up. He managed to escape the prisoners’ ship, those idiots…” The true reprimanding tone of a marine, indeed. “Well, Nami’s having her own debate whether to forgive him or not. It’s her choice. I guess Jinbe will want to talk to her, once he wakes up. How is he?”  
“The nurses said he’s recovering slowly, but he could wake up any moment, yoi.” Marco answered.  
Luffy nodded. “I see.” He sighed. “I must inform her now, see you later.”  
With that said, the teen jumped quickly on his ship and disappeared in the kitchen. Marco assumed a thoughtful expression, still trying to understand if he wanted to deploy his plan or just go with the flow. It was a rather nasty battle, between pleasurable hunting and growing desire.  
“Such predatory eyes, brother.” Izo teasingly smirked.  
Whitebeard snickered. “You’re listening to my advice?”  
“I am going to, yoi.” Marco smirked, standing with hands in pants’ pockets. “I have until tonight.”  
“Wow, that’s something I never thought I’d see…”  
“What?” The pirate arched a brow.  
“You… interested… and wrapped around someone’s little finger.”


	4. 04 – Resolution

Marco almost pouted, escaping his pops and brother’s snickers and knowing gazes. Damn. Izo was right. But. Heck. He couldn’t care less. He entered his cabin and flopped with his back into his bed. It was so strange. It felt so strange… And so right. So fucking right. He couldn’t help but smile and wonder when exactly he had been entrapped so through fully.

He put an arm on his eyes. True, he had felt the pull towards the black dragon since the beginning. He had felt the urge to protect him since first laying his eyes on the wounded creature. He had trusted him, missed him, taken care of him. And not like a mother-hen… Oh, no.

Those feelings were driven by possessiveness, desire, longing… And he didn’t regret any of those. On the contrary, the more he reasoned in his fighting mind, the more he liked the idea. It was mad.

“What’s that shit-eating grin?”

As much as he wanted to jump in surprise, he succeeded in staying still and lazily freed his eyes of his arm. Marco looked at Luffy, sitting on the ground next to his bed. He didn’t even want to ask how the hell was he so sneaky…

“And why are you in my cabin, yoi?”

“You don’t mind.” Luffy rolled his eyes. “And it seemed to me like you wanted to tell me something.”

The pirate sat and looked at the other’s black orbs. “That may be true.”

Luffy arched a slim brow in confusion. “Uhm, so what?”

Marco couldn’t hold back the smirk. That caught the other by surprise. To hell the plans.

he Phoenix grabbed the black, half-buttoned shirt and swiftly flipped their position. Luffy was then trapped under him, bodies lined, shocked and frozen, but with an amused glint in his eyes.

“What’s this thing about you licking my face, yoi?”

The raven smirked, relaxing. “You didn’t like it?” He propped his head a bit and licked his chin playfully.

“On the contrary…” Marco made their noses touch. “… But I want to know why.”

The light pink on the other’s cheeks contrasted with the playful smirk. “I don’t know. I do what I want.”

Marco brushed his lips on the soft ones of Luffy, smirking. “I’ll follow your example, then.”

He grabbed both wrists and blocked them on either side of Luffy’s face. The Phoenix closed the useless and unnerving distance between their lips, keeping his eyes open. They were soft as he had expected, slim, sneaky, playful. He looked at the other, that closed slowly his eyes, completely relaxed and lost. Marco did the same, nibbling and biting at his lower lip. He gained a muffled moan and, consequently, the entrance to the hot cavern. In no time, he separated a bit and conquered again those addicting lips.

He clashed his tongue with the other’s muscle, engaging a hot battle for dominance. He didn’t expect the fierce retaliation. Luffy was not the passive one. He was meeting Marco’s wet muscle with an ardent desire to win… Or maybe only to play with him, he wasn’t sure. The Phoenix blocked the other’s hands with only one of his own, crossed over his head. He brushed the now free one along Luffy’s arm, feeling him shiver. He was sure now, the other was simply playfully fighting him, else he would have tried to free his wrists. Instead, he was being passive and active at the same time, the sneaky bastard.

Marco let his hand massage the armpit, earning an eager whine and an arch of his back, and slid to the hip. He gripped fiercely there and used the fingers to caress the shirt, that was slowly going up, and the backside. Without noticing, they were already sliding against each other’s body. He separated their lips to breath, finally at his limit, and looked at the other.

Luffy was flushed, panting, with half-lidded eyes full of lust. A mess, in few words. And that made some strange pride fill his stomach. He smirked, foreheads touching and breaths mixing in small puffs.

“Is this what you wanted, yoi?”

The raven’s blush darkened a bit. “I wasn’t expecting you to crumble so fast…” He smirked at Marco’s frown. “But I don’t mind.”

In an instant, Luffy freed his wrists and flipped them over. Marco let him, feeling playful himself… And excited. The teen was then straddling his lap, sitting with his palms on his torso. He put his hands on the other’s hips and sneaked his thumbs under the shirt teasingly.

The position brought a new fire in his growing erection. He could feel the other’s excitement, too. Well, he could see the bulge, and it was not so little as one would think.

“Like what you see?”

Yeah, the brat was too teasing for his patience, that was already running out for the situation at hand. Marco slid the other fingers under the shirt, gaining a bitten lower lip and a straddling. He himself bit back a moan and sneaked some fingers between the hem of the pants and the skin. He smirked when Luffy propped forward and caught his lips in a steamy exchange.

If before he had been the one exploring and mapping, this was the raven’s turn. He let him ravish his mouth, seemingly defeated and playfully caught the tongue, sometimes, making the other whimper. Meanwhile, he sneakily opened the belt and let it slide to the floor. With one hand, he massaged the growing bulge in the pants, bathing in the muffled moans of appreciation and eagerness, with the other he unbuttoned the shirt and massaged the naked hip.

When Luffy separated for air, Marco took him by surprise and swapped their positions. He was then in-between the other’s parted legs, bodies lined and manhood’ grinding. Without giving him time to adjust, Marco captured again his lips in a mind-blowing kiss, rendering him completely inoffensive this time.

He felt the other’s hands sliding to his shoulders and used his ones to undo the raven’s pants. He cupped the bulge, now covered only by the boxers, and smirked in the kiss at the wild groan. With the other hand, he got rid of the pants entirely and started playing with the hem of the boxers. Luffy bit Marco’s lower lip and used the surprise he caused to brush lightly his fingers on the other’s rather big bulge. He smirked in victory when Marco hissed and groaned, resting his head in the crook of his neck.

Luffy circled the pirate’s waist with his legs, grinding their erections and moaning lowly. His objective was clear then. He wanted Marco to lose his control, to lose himself, to let the situation flow and to give the raven what he was asking so eagerly. The pirate smirked and blocked the other’s hands again on the pillow.

“You are dangerous, yoi.”

“I was a Rear Admiral, First Division Commander.” Luffy smirked, slightly breathless. “What did you expect?”

“Nothing less.”

The heated tongues’ battle began again. They undressed each other hastily, clothes discarded on the floor. Their awakened manhood’ were now freely brushing in a messy rhythm. The two were moaning in muffled voices. But Marco was not stopping. Luffy wanted him to lose his cool, so be it.

He didn’t have any lube, so he started pumping slowly the other while giving him his free hand. Luffy understood right away what Marco wanted. Lost in the pleasure, he took the hand and began coating the fingers in his saliva, sucking and licking. Unconsciously making the other blush a bit at the show.

Not wanting to come right there and then, he switched his attention to the raven’s member. He administered some licks and took it in his mouth. The resulting shocked moan was enough to urge him into going on. He retreated the wet hand, making the other whimper a bit, and slowly pushed a finger in the little hole he was about to abuse ruthlessly. Luffy looked at him, no traces of discomfort or pain in his lustful eyes.

“I’m not a girl.” He said with a frown.

Luffy cupped his nape and brought him down to lick and nibble at his neck. He sucked at the spot, causing a red mark. He lapped it with a mischievous grin while the pirate pushed two more fingers in.

“Now, what are you waiting for…” His voice was low, guttural, almost a purr. “… Marco.”

His name. He had never called him. And never would he have expected so much lust, desire, cockiness and playfulness. A chuckle erupted when he pulled back his fingers.

Marco lifted his head to look better at the bastard under him. Black holes stared back with a lot more than lust in them, but he couldn’t identify what. And he didn’t have the patience to. He captured his lips, immediately invading the other’s mouth with his tongue. He lined his member with the entrance and pushed without restraints. They both groaned in the kiss, lips slightly apart, breaths mixing in their heat.

It was beautiful, enveloping, warm, addicting and, damn it, his. His and no one else’s. This encompassing feeling of possessing and being possessed, of belonging, of having and giving. Incomparable, almost inevitable. And he would have not let anyone have it. No. Fucking. One.

Marco smirked at Luffy’s grin and pulled out fully, before slamming back in. Judging the loud moan that escaped the raven’s lips, it was a pleasurable movement. He did the same two more times, all the while biting and sucking at his collarbones, leaving delightful red, possessive marks.

Luffy crossed his legs at Marco’s rear, urging him to take a faster pace. He obliged. With a hand still pumping the teen, he matched the pace of his hips, faster as seconds ticked by. Waves of pleasure and growing dizziness were hitting both, panting and moaning in hushed voices. Luffy left nails’ marks on his shoulders and Marco hissed at the pain they caused, but kept fastening his pace.

They were both near, he could feel it in the pit of his stomach and in the throbbing veins along the other’s shaft. He grabbed Luffy’s butt cheek with his free hand and spilled his seed in the boy’s hole, pumping him till he was done.

Marco rested his head in the crook of the raven’s head, catching his breath. Luffy lifted a hand to the other’s neck, brushing with feather-like touch his fingers on the skin, absentmindedly. With a grunt, the pirate pulled out of the other and slumped on his side, circling the teen with his arms. The raven smiled and took a blanket to cover their bodies, cuddling in his lover’s embrace.

“Not bad, old man.” He teased.

“Yoi, who the hell are you calling old man?”

“Of course you. Being a Phoenix, I fear how old you are really…” He chuckled.

Marco flicked a finger on his forehead in retaliation. “Respect your elders, then.”

“Never.” Luffy pecked his lips and cuddled more, totally peaceful.

The pirate wanted to sigh at the sight. But, honestly, he was too cute in that moment. And he felt refreshed, more than he’d like to admit. Damn youngsters and damn hormones.

 

“CHEEEEERS!!!”

Everyone lifted their cups, drinking the liquor in one gulp. Currently, the two crews were scattered on the Moby Dick’s deck. Franky was arm wrestling countless of Whitebeard’s pirates, included Vista and Fossa. Izo was casually and peacefully conversing with Nami, Robin and Brook over some tea. Thatch was cooking like mad and Sanji was gladly helping. Zoro had challenged the Captain and some more to a drinking battle, the result was that the two were the only ones still going. Chopper was playing with chopsticks stuck between his blue nose and his mouth. Luffy was laughing at him while eating no-stop. Ace was still sulking and again bruised from his brother’s harsh scolding, but he was near him with a stretched and relaxed smile. Jimbe was talking with Whitebeard… well, was trying to. Between being overwhelmed by the horrendous amount of alcohol disappearing in instants and deciding what to do with Nami, he was a little shocked and taken aback.

Marco, instead, was peacefully drinking and enjoying the show. Really, their parties were always crazy, but this one was beating the others soundly. After an hour or so, half the crew was out cold because of too much drinking. The nurses were already starting to fuss around pops, but failing in making him stop. Something about pride as a pirate captain and shit. Honestly, the most interesting, in his personal opinion of course, was Luffy, but that was to be hidden for the moment. He still had some things to think through. And the boy wasn’t helping. Not one bit.

He kept stealing glances towards him with a following knowing smirk. Every five minutes. Unnerving. And exciting. Oh, hell… What was he? A lovesick teenager? No, damn it. And neither was Luffy. He was, again, playing and enjoying Marco’s reactions… He would have showed him what all of this could cause in a man… But, then again, it was Luffy’s objective. The damn sneaky bastard.

All in all, Izo had been right. He was already wrapped tightly around his finger. Well, aside accepting the fact, the only thing he could possibly do was… to make it permanent. Yeah, he was being rather possessive. A lot. Ok, maybe too much, but he couldn’t care less. And he thought that the boy had every intention of doing the same.

“Well well well…”

Oh, he should have expected this. His brother was not one to stay silent.

“What, yoi?” He drank another gulp.

“Everything went good, huh?” Izo sat near him at the table with a smirk.

“I should say… Even better.”

“And? Are you satisfied?”

“I am…”

“But?”

Marco sighed. “I don’t know, yoi.”

“Don’t tell me you already miss him...”

The Phoenix scoffed. “It’s not that.”

“Uhm… But it’s a part of it.” Izo gripped his chin. “Maybe you want to have a talk with him?”

“I don’t even want to hear how you know what happened, yoi.”

“First of all, you were not exactly mute. I think some of our brothers know what happened in your cabin, but not with who. As soon as Thatch hears about it, he’ll set up a betting table. Anyway… Second reason, you are so much more relaxed I thought you were going to melt.”

“Is that so…”

“I think he is… Good for you.” Izo said, eyes narrowed. “You’re so stiff all the time.” He rolled his eyes. “Just… Be yourself, Marco. And talk to him, okay?”

Despite being annoyed at the introspective conversation, he smiled at his brother. “I will, yoi.”

“Nice.” Izo grinned. “Oh, and be sure to talk to pops, he’s been itching to, I can tell.”

“I noticed, but he’s busy.”

“Pfff, just go, idiot mother-hen.”

Marco smirked, but did as asked and went to sit on his knee, facing the party. Zoro arched a brow at him but shrugged and nodded to the Captain, taking his leave. He seemed a bit sulking, though.

“These brats sure are strong.” Whitebeard laughed.

The Phoenix chuckled, thinking about the morning. “I agree.”

“You skipped lunch, Marco, that’s unusual.” His pops carefully inquired.

“I was… Busy, yoi.” Making the raven his again and again.

“Hard not to notice.” The man snickered. “And what do you think about it?”

“I think…” He frowned. “That I liked it, yoi.”

Newgate nodded thoughtfully. “But?”

“But.” He sighed. “Was it only a flicker?”

The man hummed. “Depends on you both.” He looked at his son. “What do you want?”

“I want…” He didn’t even process what he was saying, letting his mind decide. “Him.”

“Then, I’m fairly sure it was not.”

Marco huffed, arms crossed on his chest. “How, yoi?”

“That’s for you to understand. Why don’t you just talk to him?”

It seemed to be the solution, but why was he so… against it? No, ‘against’ was not the proper word, but the right one was… Nevermind. He was a man of the sea, he would do what his mind was telling him, as always, and push back his heart’s pain.

“Okay, I will.”

Whitebeard shook his head in fond exasperation. “You didn’t answer my question, but do as you see fit.”

Marco smirked, leaving his pops’ side and launching an inviting gaze over to Luffy. The teen blinked but understood. He waved at Chopper, that hastily joined Franky’s cheering squad, and followed the pirate on the Sunny’s deck.

“You know, Zoro is not so stupid, he noticed.”

“I’m aware, yoi.”

Luffy snickered and entered the kitchen, followed by the other, that closed the door. They sat at the table and looked at each other for what seemed like hours.

Marco was at a loss of words. What exactly did he want to talk to him about? He could remember. He was lost. In the black orbs, in his own wild thoughts, in the craziness of the whole situation. There he was, facing a teenager that had been able to steal his… His… His what? What had he stolen?

“Marco.”

He blinked, looking again at Luffy. He sighed and scratched his neck.

“What’s the problem?”

Oh, that insecurity was too cute. Was he worried?

“I need to understand, yoi.” He said, careful of every word… The teen blinking cutely like that was not helping. “What are we?”

Luffy frowned. “Aren’t we… What people calls… Lovers?” Now, he was blushing, too.

“Yes, but…”

“If you are unsure about…” He blushed more. “My feelings… Be not. I may be playful, but I’m not shallow. If I approached you, I was sure. I wanted you.”

By then, his blush was a dark red on his cheeks and a bit on his ears. He was looking at his left, pouting in an irresistible way. Marco bit his lower lip and groaned. Luffy looked at him, a bit startled. Of course, he wasn’t in his head. He couldn’t hear the swirling thoughts that were calming him.

That was the whole problem, apparently. He was feeling unsecure. About the reasons why the teen had approached him in the first place. Like a fucking lovesick teenager girl undergoing puberty. He was not going to voice these… Things. No. They were deadly weaknesses, not thinking about Luffy’s teasing habit.

Said boy was by then standing at his side, obviously worried. The heck. Marco caught him by the shirt and made him sat, straddling his lap. Luffy immediately circled his arms around his neck and started kissing him. The pirate responded to the touch by sliding his tongue in the other’s mouth and his hand under his shirt, on the hip.

“What the….”

They broke apart lazily and annoyed, looking at the blushing and spluttering Sanji on the doorstep. Luffy sighed and tried to stand, but Marco gripped his hips and squeezed him. He nipped his earlobe and the teen blushed, looking between his cook and his lover.

“Take your filthy hands off–”

Someone circled Sanji’s waist from behind him. He turned his head, blush darkening, and Zoro captured his lips in a melting kiss. The blonde lost his will to fight back almost instantly and the swordsman winked at them, dragging the cook away.

Luffy blinked, surprised. “I hadn’t noticed.” He breathed, Marco was still leaving bright red marks on his neck.

“They hide quite well, yoi.” He smirked, kissing again the life out of him. “I fear your brother’s reaction, honestly…”

“Ah, the brother-complex…” Luffy moaned a bit, straddling Marco more harshly and needlingly. “But I have something to tell him…”

Marco stopped his doings and looked at him, surprised. Why did he seem so sad… and happy at the same time?

“It’s about our brother.” Luffy smiled, caressing the other’s cheek. “He’s convinced that he’s dead, but I’ve met him. He is alive and Ace will throw a fit, I know.” He chuckled.

The pirate cupped the raven’s cheek and brushed it with his thumb. “Will you tell me about it, yoi?”

Luffy snickered teasingly. “We have all the night…”

 

Marco groggily stirred and stretched, wary of the warm, naked, sexy body lined to his own. Luffy mumbled something, then opened his eyes. He was still sleepy, maybe even with an hangover, but smiled looking at the pirate and kissed him.

The Phoenix chuckled at the cuddling and hugged him. It was late in the morning, he assessed, and the Strawhat Pirates were bound to depart in the afternoon, at most. He sighed, kissing his forehead.

“Don’t worry too much about it.” Luffy looked up at him. “Whenever we want, whenever we can, we could just fly and find each other, okay?”

And there he was, a grown man being comforted by a teenager. How unsightly. He scoffed and bit his neck, possessively.

“You better stay faithful, brat.”

“Shishishi… That tickles, old man.” Luffy bit him back. “You’re so possessive.”

“Feel honoured yoi.”

“I am.” He smirked and kissed him again. “Another round?”

Marco groaned at the puppy eyes, hovering on the boy like a predator. “You asked for it.”

 

When Luffy fled through the window in little dragon form, Marco left through the door. He went on deck and nodded at his pops. Whitebeard looked at him and laughed out loud. What a jerk…

He looked at the ship sailing with them. A certain cook was accusingly looking at him… That he had expected. Not the fuming Ace right next to him. Damn.

He swiftly jumped high in the air, taking his beast’s form and dodging several fire orbs launched at him. Yeah, he was too angry to reason with him. And pops was being an asshole, laughing at his son’s antics. Honestly, what was he supposed to do with this?

Marco fled from a Fire Punch and landed on Sunny’s crow’s nest, changing back. “Ace, yoi..”

“SHUT UP!!”

At least he tried…

A black, huge mass passed between the two, startling them. The dragon, in his middle form, had stopped with his back at Marco and his gritted teeth at Ace.

“Luffy?”

The boy landed in front of the Phoenix and turned human on the railing. “What are you doing, Ace?”

“You… He… What the… I can’t allow this!!”

“This what, dear brother?”

Oh, yep, Marco was scared shitless when his little lover used that tone. Made him wonder how much Ace treaded facing it. He looked at him, and felt like joining the other side. He was pale and shocked.

“You should know how territorial I am, Ace.” Marine tone back and sound. “What were you doing to my lover?”

Marco blinked owlishly, looking at Luffy. He didn’t expect him to say that so… Well, no reason to stay silent about it, but…

“L-lover?”

“Are you going deaf? He’s my lover. Mine. Touch him in ways I don’t like and I’ll eat you.”

At that moment, the pirate wanted nothing more than hug him from his back and drag Luffy back in his cabin. Damn, why was he acting like a dog, signing his territory? The raven had no idea how those words turned him on…

“Plus, I have something to tell you.”

Ace blinked, startled. But nodded.

“Sabo is alive.”

The flames suddenly disappeared and Ace fell to the deck with a loud thud. Marco looked worriedly at him.

“Wish Smokey was here…”

“Smokey, yoi?”

“Smoker, an ex-colleague. He has a thing for Ace. Maybe I should set them up.”

“What about Ace?”

“He’s too stubborn to admit it, so Smokey is fine for him. He’s strong enough to submit him.”

“… And you think I will allow that?”

Luffy snorted turning to Marco and bending his knees to be at his eye-level. “Why would you deny him happiness?” He grabbed his shirt, making him approach.

“Because he’s a marine, yoi?”

The raven smirked, invading his personal bubble. “I was, too.”

Marco sighed. “You’re not anymore.”

Puppy eyes. “Please?” He wanted to groan.

“… Fine, I will check him first.”

“Thanks.”

Luffy smiled and closed the distance to kiss him lightly. Marco’s desire to snatch him up and go back to his room increased. The raven poked his nose with a finger, looking at Whitebeard, that was smiling, amused.

“We can’t.” He said. “You told me to be faithful, what about you, old man?”

Marco scoffed. “As if you need that, yoi.”

“You think so?” Luffy assumed a Cheshire grin and the other wanted to flee.

The raven jumped on Moby Dick’s deck, where Izo and Thatch were playing cards with their pops.

“Hey, guys!”

Marco wanted to die.

“Can I ask you a favour?”

No, better just disappear.

“In my stead, please be sure that old man doesn’t cheat on me, okay?”

The floor could swallow him anytime, but right then would have been better.

“But of course, Luffy!” Izo smirked.

“What? Cheat? What’s going on here?” The cook, always slow.

“Gurararararara!!”

Marco joined them, frowning, arms crossed on his chest. “That was not needed, yoi.”

He caught Luffy’s collar, the boy was sneakily running away, and kissed him deeply. In front of everyone. Well, he was feeling vengeful. If he was object of shame, so should Luffy be. Tch. The boy was blushing furiously. So damn satisfying. He let him go and smirked seeing Thatch fainted, Izo splutter and pops laughing happily. Ace was grumpily walking to his brother, hugging him as a goodbye. Were those teary eyes?

Luffy jumped back on his ship with a wave. “See ya in the New World, old man.”

Marco put his elbows on the railing, watching the Sunny slowly detach from them. A heavy feeling settled in his chest, but he shrugged it off and smiled, waving back. The boy was right, after all. They were bound to meet again, and they could always just search for each other, thanks to the vivre cards they had exchanged.

Faintly, he heard the groan of a waking up Thatch and snickered.

“Wha… Wait… Luffy… I didn’t bid him good journey! And… Marco has… Oh gosh…”

And, again, fainted. Izo frowned and kicked him, then looked at Marco with a smile.

“We are all the sons of the sea.” Whitebeard said, drinking some sake.

“True, pops.”

Marco smiled and looked at them. “Where to, pops?”

“Route to the New World! Gurarararararara!!”


End file.
